For the first time we may have actually been semi excited about returning to London, although devastated about leaving Spain at the same time. Stacey (from Damien’s work in Melb) and her sister Alison were in town for a few days preparing for a Contiki tour. The night we returned home we took them out to Fulham to a bar that we had heard about but not yet been to, Elk Bar. After a feed and a bit of catch-up time, we found ourselves on the dance floor, im still not sure if it was the good company or the cheap mojito’s that inspired this move. We had a great night, but was way too late to take the train so had to negotiate London’s night buses in the light rain (after a nice sunny day) to get home. 
Late the next morning we got a message from stace, saying they had only just woken up (if we weren’t still in bed I would call them lazy) and did we want to get some lunch. With no idea where to go we told them to meet us at London Bridge and took them to the Borough Market, one of our favorites’. It’s a food market, much of it is meat and veg but also some awesome antipasto, cakes, sweets and burgers. We finished the afternoon with a walk along the Thames since the weather was half decent and they got to see a few of the touristy things. Another nice day!
We were home in time for the Hawaiian Party, at our hostel. I’m sure there was a reason for the party, possibly a farewell of someone who had stayed a few weeks, any excuse to dress up and get drunk at Dean Court!
Saturday we headed to the Shoreditch festival. Just one of the suburbs of London, having a basic fair with stalls and a music stage. The sad truth is that we were going to watch the dog competition being held! Talk about being deprived. It was cool, heaps of dogs with awards for best trick, cutest, waggiest tail etc… Mel met us after work and we sat back in the grass with a few beers and enjoyed the entertainment - music and some rowdy locals.
The rest of the week was pretty subdued, we both worked in schools as much as we could although Damien didn’t get a great deal of work. We chilled out in Hyde Park and recuperated from a hectic few weeks. Damien visited the Natural history museum and science museum one day which was pretty interesting. One night in the hostel the TV didn’t even get turned on which was very exciting, people enjoyed conversations’ instead!
By Thursday we were rested up for another weekend starting with heading to the pub with our kiwi friends Jake and Felicity. We met up at The Champion, a local pub for a few quiet drinks.
Friday was not so quiet! The anticipation had been building for months! Saints v Hawks at the Walkabout! Meredith one of the chics we live with, from Tassie, a big hawks fan had been building it up since Damien put the AFL fixture on the wall in the hostel living room.
We had spent the afternoon with Mel in the Portrait Gallery and then a pub near Covent Garden. She was heading to the ballet for the evening, a poor choice we felt. We then headed out to the Walkabout in Shepherds Bush. We missed the start but it was a good close game. The game exceeded our expectations, close all the way, lead changes, we stirred each other up right through out. Of course the end was not what either of us expected, a draw, after saints were 15 points down with a few minutes to go. We couldn’t believe it!
The night was downhill from there, more drinks soothed the pain, but the band that was playing didn’t have a singer, so they got random people from the crowd up on stage to sing. Most people were surprisingly good, but not all, I don’t plan to return on a Friday night again. Oh and the Kebab for dinner was possibly the worst I have ever had!
Sunday, Damien got motivated again and headed to The Oval, in the south of London for a domestic one day game (cricket – Middlesex v Yorkshire). Learning from the Lords experience I stopped on the way to fill my bag with cold pint cans of beer. It is great going to these grounds that you grew up seeing on TV. Damien even ran on the ground with a beer in his hand and bare feet… and didn’t get arrested!
The following day the hangover was helped by the Dean Court standard issue bacon and egg breakfast. Mel was around and had the day off so we went for a trip to Greenwich. First stop was to find a coffee, I love travelling with Mel! We found one in the maritime museum of all places, so while we were there we had a look at some old ships and stuff. Then it was off to the Greenwich Time Line (GMT). This was another museum, focusing on all things time and astronomy. We had a bit of a walk through Greenwich park, around Greenwich and then down to the Thames River. Sadly these nice outings will be limited, as Mel has decided she is heading back to Aus in a few months, leaving the Sheridan’s to tough out another cold winter alone.
Then there was only a few things left to do before our trip to Croatia, washing packing and organizing our travel documents, Eastern Europe, here we come!
Late the next morning we got a message from stace, saying they had only just woken up (if we weren’t still in bed I would call them lazy) and did we want to get some lunch. With no idea where to go we told them to meet us at London Bridge and took them to the Borough Market, one of our favorites’. It’s a food market, much of it is meat and veg but also some awesome antipasto, cakes, sweets and burgers. We finished the afternoon with a walk along the Thames since the weather was half decent and they got to see a few of the touristy things. Another nice day!
We were home in time for the Hawaiian Party, at our hostel. I’m sure there was a reason for the party, possibly a farewell of someone who had stayed a few weeks, any excuse to dress up and get drunk at Dean Court!
Saturday we headed to the Shoreditch festival. Just one of the suburbs of London, having a basic fair with stalls and a music stage. The sad truth is that we were going to watch the dog competition being held! Talk about being deprived. It was cool, heaps of dogs with awards for best trick, cutest, waggiest tail etc… Mel met us after work and we sat back in the grass with a few beers and enjoyed the entertainment - music and some rowdy locals.
The rest of the week was pretty subdued, we both worked in schools as much as we could although Damien didn’t get a great deal of work. We chilled out in Hyde Park and recuperated from a hectic few weeks. Damien visited the Natural history museum and science museum one day which was pretty interesting. One night in the hostel the TV didn’t even get turned on which was very exciting, people enjoyed conversations’ instead!
By Thursday we were rested up for another weekend starting with heading to the pub with our kiwi friends Jake and Felicity. We met up at The Champion, a local pub for a few quiet drinks.
Friday was not so quiet! The anticipation had been building for months! Saints v Hawks at the Walkabout! Meredith one of the chics we live with, from Tassie, a big hawks fan had been building it up since Damien put the AFL fixture on the wall in the hostel living room.
We had spent the afternoon with Mel in the Portrait Gallery and then a pub near Covent Garden. She was heading to the ballet for the evening, a poor choice we felt. We then headed out to the Walkabout in Shepherds Bush. We missed the start but it was a good close game. The game exceeded our expectations, close all the way, lead changes, we stirred each other up right through out. Of course the end was not what either of us expected, a draw, after saints were 15 points down with a few minutes to go. We couldn’t believe it!
The night was downhill from there, more drinks soothed the pain, but the band that was playing didn’t have a singer, so they got random people from the crowd up on stage to sing. Most people were surprisingly good, but not all, I don’t plan to return on a Friday night again. Oh and the Kebab for dinner was possibly the worst I have ever had!
Sunday, Damien got motivated again and headed to The Oval, in the south of London for a domestic one day game (cricket – Middlesex v Yorkshire). Learning from the Lords experience I stopped on the way to fill my bag with cold pint cans of beer. It is great going to these grounds that you grew up seeing on TV. Damien even ran on the ground with a beer in his hand and bare feet… and didn’t get arrested!
The following day the hangover was helped by the Dean Court standard issue bacon and egg breakfast. Mel was around and had the day off so we went for a trip to Greenwich. First stop was to find a coffee, I love travelling with Mel! We found one in the maritime museum of all places, so while we were there we had a look at some old ships and stuff. Then it was off to the Greenwich Time Line (GMT). This was another museum, focusing on all things time and astronomy. We had a bit of a walk through Greenwich park, around Greenwich and then down to the Thames River. Sadly these nice outings will be limited, as Mel has decided she is heading back to Aus in a few months, leaving the Sheridan’s to tough out another cold winter alone.
Then there was only a few things left to do before our trip to Croatia, washing packing and organizing our travel documents, Eastern Europe, here we come!
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